Untrustworthy
by Toto93
Summary: Daryl found a woman covered in blood whilst out hunting for food, who is she? What happened to her previous group? and why does seeing Shane faun over her piss Daryl off so much? Rated M for upcoming chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Daryl was hunting, food was drying up quick in camp and it was left to him to find the meat that would hopefully be their dinner that night. He preferred being alone, especially whilst hunting, the others were loud, heavy footed, didn't check where they were stepping. Ended up chasing any possible food away and attracting any unwanted attention, which Daryl could do without.

Slowly he crept through the forest, he was tracking something, he just wasn't quite sure what it was. One thing was for sure, it was big, not like the squirrels he'd had to make do with recently. He'd been following whatever it was for hours, something was slowing it down, it'd only be a matter of time now.

All of a sudden the track vanished at the base of a large tree, he crouched down reaching out to the small splattering of blood signaling the end of the trail.

"Hmm..." he scratched his head "Somethin' ain't righ' here"

He stood back up, his eyes searching the area for any signs of the animal he'd lost.

"Damn it" he growled

He heard a slight gasp coming from right above him, slowly he looked up. Perched in the branches, slouching against the trunk of the tree, was a woman. Her face contorted in pain gripping her ribs, covered in blood that didn't seem to be her own.

"Please" she groaned "Don't kill me" Her eyes turned towards him, as his hand reached for his knife.

"Looks like gettin' up that tree was pretty hard, 'ow you plannin' on getting yourself down?"

"Well, maybe an attractive man would be kind enough to catch me" She grinned. Daryl's expression stayed neutral, his eyes glaring at her. "Guess not" she whispered, shifting slightly causing her to groan. "I heard you y'know? Following me."

Daryl scoffed "Yeah right."

"If not why'd you reckon I forced myself up in this tree? You can see I'm injured right?"

"This don't matter, maybe I'll just leave you up there" He turned away from her, signalling his intent to leave.

"Wait... please... I'm sorry, my sense of humour is out of whack I guess, along with my ribs."

Daryl stopped, turning back, his instincts told him to leave her there, she'd be trouble but he never was a guy who could say no to a woman who needs his help.

"Right" He placed his cross-bow on the ground and reached up, grabbing the closest branch and pulled himself up. Carefully he climbed the tree until he was on the same level as the woman. "Where are you injured?"

"My ribs and my left arm" she whispered, her eyes trained on his, her breath hitched as his fingers lightly traced her injured arm.

"What happened?" he lowered his voice to match hers

"Too much"

He knew he wouldn't be told the story easily so he gave up, some one else could find that out. He had to help her out of this tree first. He carefully lowered himself down, watching her gently let her legs hang off the branch she was sat on and guiding them to the branch below. They began their descent, the woman wincing now and then with soft encouragement from Daryl, telling her where to place her feet. Finally their feet reached the solid ground.

"Thank you" The woman took Daryl's hand and stared in to his eyes, her face stained with blood, long red hair matted and full of leaves. "What's your name?"

"What's yours?" Daryl asked, he wasn't about to get drawn in by some woman he'd just met.

"Rebecca, my name's Rebecca." Her smile was bright, too bright for Daryl, it hurt to see it. He'd almost forgotten what a proper smile could look like, but that just put him more on edge, a woman covered in blood when the worlds gone to shit who's smiling like she's just won the lotto? That's fucked up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, thanks for reading my story so far, I hope you enjoy it and if you could leave a review and let me know what you think that would be great. This is going to be a Daryl centric story, mainly following his thoughts and movements. :) Because he's my favourite character. **

**(I've never written a fanfic before so I hope it's okay.)**

As they made their way back to camp Daryl asked Rebecca questions, hoping to quell the uneasy feeling in his stomach, she was evasive. The main thing she seemed interested in was just getting back, cleaning herself up. She was clumsy, tripping over every root, grabbing at his arm to stop her fall. It wasn't right, she couldn't have evaded him whilst he was tracking her for so long was she really this... loud. Daryl gave up asking question instead settling for silence as the approached the camp. He could already hear the laughter of Carl and Sophia.

"Wait..." her grip tightened on his arm "There are children in your camp?"

Daryl turned to meet her gaze, her eyes were wide, full of nerves.

"Whats it matter?" Daryl questioned.

"Um, I just don't deal with kids well? Maybe I should head off, by myself." Her eyes were darting around the scenery.

Daryl huffed and grabbed her elbow, guiding her towards the camp, ignoring her whispered pleading. Daryl was tired, he hadn't found food on his day long hunt but another mouth to feed instead. What a joke, he should have left her behind, he knew it in his gut but that didn't stop him pulling her closer to the camp, bringing her straight to Rick.

Eyes followed Daryl and his guest as he dragged her past everyone, straight to Rick.

"Rick" Daryl called causing Rick to turn around "I found this girl in the woods, she's injured"

Ricks eyes searched the girls face, wary of the newcomer, for signs she could be trusted. Daryl noticed Rebecca straighten her back, a look of defiance plastered all over he face, hoping to mask the pain that was so clearly evident.

"What's your name?" Rick asked

"Rebecca" she answered, eyes shifting between Rick and Daryl, hoping for reassurance.

"Well, Rebecca, Carol and Lori can help you get cleaned up. Then I'm gonna ask you some questions." Rick smiled and turned towards the RV "Lori!"

Lori poked her head out of the RV "What is it?" she called back, her eyes landed on the blood drenched Rebecca and hurried out to meet her.

"Oh my gosh, what happened to you?" Lori brushed some of Rebecca's matted red hair out of her face.

"Just a misunderstanding..." Rebecca choked out.

Lori took Rebecca's hand and gently pulled her towards the RV, Rebecca's hand loosened on Daryl's arm as she turned to stare at him.

"I ain't coming with you, if that's what you were thinking" Daryl smirked, although he found himself wanting to go, to not let her out of his sight. After all, he was the one who found her, she's his responsibility. Daryl forced himself to stay in place as Lori, shortly joined by Carol, lead Rebecca away. Reminding himself she would be back soon and he could figure her out some more. If she let him.

Ricks arm landed heavily on Daryl's shoulder, forcing him out of his own thoughts.

"Well, I'm guessing you didn't find any food" Rick wasn't accusing him of anything, nor laughing at him, Daryl knew that but his defensive side flared up, causing him to tense under Ricks grip.

"Nah, I didn't." Daryl growled, shrugging Ricks hand away. Daryl strode off towards his tent, passing everyone, ignoring their questions and Shane's glares.

"Fuck this" Daryl whispered to himself, placing his cross-bow on the ground. "I didn't ask for this shit."

Hours passed before Daryl heard someone carefully approaching his tent, he kept his eyes closed hoping they'd go away but luck really wasn't on his side today.

"Daryl?" just a whisper, but he heard it. Opening his eyes he saw Rebecca stood there, scrubbed clean of any blood and dirt, wearing clean clothes that hung off her small frame. she pushed her slightly damp hair out of her eyes and crouched next him.

"What?" Daryl croaked

"I just wanted to say thanks, I guess. I know I wouldn't have lasted long out there by myself." She smiled at him, Daryl couldn't handle it, her stupid smile, it annoyed him to no end, stopped him from replying. "Everyone here seems nice, you're lucky..."

"Your group ain't nice?" Daryl dragged himself in to a sitting position, he watched Rebecca as her eyes grew dark, scared.

"No, so I left them. Thought I'd do better by myself... I'm glad you found me though." Rebecca's arm hand found his and squeezed it gently before Daryl roughly pulled it away, staring at the entrance to his tent.

"Sorry... I just thought... you'd want me to repay you..." her voice shook

"Is that what your old group would've expected you t'do?" He could feel himself getting angry.

"I should go" her voice grew blank, monotone. She crawled out of Daryl's tent and brushed herself down, turning slightly she whispered "Thank you, for helping me, you're a good man... I'm just not used to it I guess."

Daryl rubbed his face, trying to forget the upset look in her eyes, it tore him up.


	3. Chapter 3

**So, next chapter uploaded. I wanted to thank to people who have favourited/followed my story alread, makes me want to do well for you guys. :) **

Daryl was pissed, He'd been sure they'd find his brother but all they'd found was his severed hand. Then to top it all off they'd been given the run around by some pricks tryin' to steal their guns who turned out to be a bunch of pansy's looking after their old folks. What a waste of time. Where could Merle be? Where ever he was he couldn't be in a good condition, must'a lost a lot of blood. Shit. Thinking about it made Daryl feel sick, he just wanted to get back to camp. As the small group got closer to camp Daryl heard gun fire.

"Lori! Carl!" Rick screamed as he took off at a sprint.

Glenn and T-Dog followed close behind, Daryl crouched low, edging his way closer to camp. He listened out for her voice, not knowing why, just needing her to be okay.

"Get the fuck off me!" Rebecca shrieked, with that Daryl threw himself up, rushing towards her. He rounded a corner just in time to see her plunge her knife right in to the walker's skull. Her face was blank, no fear, no hesitation, and it scared Daryl. She turned in his direction and upon seeing him her face crumbled, she ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck.

"Y'alright?" Daryl huffed.

"I am now." She whispered, her breath tickled his ear and it sent shivers down his spine, he gently pushed her away.

"Still got shit to do, hide if you've gotta." Daryl turned

"Be safe!" Rebecca called. It wasn't much, but it made Daryl want to get through it, to go back to her and say I stayed safe, for you, like you asked.  
The next morning came and the group was taking stock, so much had been lost. It had been decided, they needed to leave the camp, Daryl thought it was stupid they'd stayed this long in the first place, so near to the over run city. No surprise a group of 'em had found the camp. Good job they'd been on their way back or the rest of 'em wouldn't have survived.

Rebecca was stood talking to Shane, her hand on his arm, her gaze met Daryl's by chance and she quickly let go of Shane, she looked nervous.

"Walkers?" she asked, shaking her head, regaining her composure "Is that what you call them?"

"Yeah, what'd your group call them?" Shane's eyebrows knotted together, Daryl knew Shane would be interested in Rebecca, now that Lori's got her husband back she never spent any time near Shane.

"lame-brains, stupid right? Walkers sounds better..." she stared at the ground "If you're leaving I'd like to come with you, there's nothing for me anywhere else, after what happened..."

"What did happen to your group?" Shane looked sympathetic as he questioned her, Daryl chuckled to himself, no way would Rebecca tell Shane anything, He'd been asking her all kinds of questions and she had been evasive with all of them.

"We were ambushed... Dave, my boyfriend, and I escaped just in time, but he got bit. I had to kill him..." Her voice broke as her shoulders began to shake.

Daryl's mouth hung open, he couldn't believe she'd opened up to Shane.

Shane's hand squeezed Rebecca's shoulder, she smiled weakly up at him and Daryl felt his blood boil.

"I'd better get my stuff together." Rebecca strode over to Daryl and flashed him a brilliant smile.

Daryl felt his stomach turn, she was not right. He couldn't figure it out yet but he would, and he'd use her tactics against her.

"Rebecca" he called to her as he pushed himself up, He reached out and gently pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Daryl" Her eyes widened and she stepped back, running her own hands through her hair.

"Wanna ride with me? Plenty of room in my truck." He tried his best to smile naturally, keep eye contact.

"Um, sure, just let me... let me grab my stuff" She whispered, confidence fading fast.

"Great, I can keep an eye on you there." Daryl quickly turned, not being able to force his smile for much longer. He still felt sick, that feeling wouldn't go away any time soon. He kept telling himself he was doing this to keep the others safe, none of them knew Rebecca, she could be dangerous but a small voice in the back of his head was quick to remind him how soft her skin had been when she rested her hand on his arm. He tried to shove the thoughts away, but they were still there, gnawing, crawling, inside his head.


	4. Chapter 4

They'd made it to the CDC, it had been a long time since any of the group had been able to smile and laugh, Doctor Jenner made that possible, letting them in and feeding them. The food was better than the squirrels Daryl had caught and the wine was a great addition.

Daryl made it his mission to keep an eye on Rebecca, she was chatting to Dale, something about some book they'd both read. He watched her as she sipped her drink, laughing quietly at some joke Dale had made, wiping away excess food from her lips. Daryl couldn't help but lick his own, he'd had little experience with women before and he was captivated by her. The drink was not helping his resolve, he rubbed his eyes wearily.

The mention of showers made everyone practically giddy, Rebecca glanced at Daryl shyly making his heart skip a beat. She rose from the table, excusing herself, and made her way towards were they would be sleeping. Daryl quickly got up and followed her.

"You following me Dixon?" she giggled, turning towards him, her eyes were slightly unfocused, her red hair messed up.

"So what if I am?" His voice was uneven.

"You barely spoke to me the whole way here, seems to me like you're keeping an eye on me. Don't you trust me?" Her smirk was unbearable, he wanted to run his fingers over it.

"I don't understand you." he whispered

"What do you..."

"You turn up out of no where, you don't answer my questions but when Rick or Shane ask you anything you answer straight away. You say your whole group died, including some boyfriend of yours, yet you don't look all that that torn up about it." His words tumbled out before he could stop them.

Rebecca stared in to his eyes. "That group... were no good. They were cruel, ruthless. I'm not sad I'm not with them anymore. As for my boyfriend, he is a bastard." She rubbed her neck, bit her lip.

"Is?" Daryl knew it was a mistake as soon as she'd said it.

"What?" She looked away, pulling on a strand of her hair. She'd slipped up and they both knew it.

"You said he is a bastard, I thought he was dead." Daryl stepped closer to her, placing a hand on my shoulder, forcing her to make eye contact with him.

"I forget sometimes... you know... I... He..." she started to tremble.

"Forget it." Daryl let her go, her body was too warm, it stopped him from thinking straight.

"Sorry." Rebecca turned to leave, before Daryl could stop himself he grabbed her arm, pulling her back to face him.

"W... What" she stuttered out before Daryl leant down, capturing her lips with his own. The kiss was clumsy, drunk, but she returned it. His arms found her waist, circling them, bringing her against his body.

She was too warm, Daryl's mind went fuzzy, he heard her gasp out his name causing him to dig his fingers in to her skin. Her hands were in his hair, tugging it, she tasted of wine.

A slight cough brought his mind crashing back to reality, pulling away from her. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated, she was panting, still holding on to him like she'd fall if she didn't. Daryl turned to see what had interrupted.

"Sorry" Carol whispered, hand covering Sophia's eyes. "I just needed to get past"

Daryl quickly let go of Rebecca, "S'okay" he pushed past Rebecca making his way to his own room. He heard Rebecca apologise to Carol as he closed his door.

Smacking himself on the head he groaned, "Fuck." He landed on the couch with a thud, he shouldn't have done that. It was the wine, it had to be. He couldn't get her lust filled expression out of his head, she was going to be the death of him. He fell in to a fitful sleep, his dreams full of Rebecca, some pleasant but one dreadful, her face, full of betrayal, tears streaming down her face, begging him for... something... it drifted away from him as he was torn from his sleep.

Daryl made his way down to the cafeteria to find almost everyone looking like shit. His eyes quickly landed on Rebecca who was nursing a coffee and leaning on Dale, Daryl walked round the table to sit opposite her, she glanced up at him, blushed and returned her attention to the coffee.  
Doctor Jenner entered the room, Dale started questioning the Doctor, Daryl couldn't concentrate, his head was pounding and he needed Rebecca to look at him.

Before long Jenner lead the group to the control centre. "VI, display brain scans from 'Test subject 19'" Jenner said

Synapses light up throughout the brain. "Experience, memories. Somewhere in all that organic wiring is you. The thing that makes you unique and human," Jenner explained. The display shows the virus attacking the brain - the "first event." The brain goes dark; the body dies. "Everything you were or ever will be - gone,"

"Everything?" Rebecca asks "You mean, that's it? There's no hope?" Her eyes well up "That's impossible."

Daryl's steps closer to her, tapping her arm, she turns to him and leans in to his chest. Shane glares at him from the other side of the group but Daryl ignores him. He concentrates on trying to sooth Rebecca.

Daryl lets the rest of the conversation pass him by, he knows there's no point. It's the end of the damn world, no point knowing why. Until Dale asks about the clock on the wall, Daryl glances up at it, seeing it's a count down he lets Rebecca go and starts walking towards the Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

**So I'm not gonna write all the TV scenes word for word because I figure if you're reading this you've probably seen the TV show and know what happened. I'll mention them briefly from Daryl's perspective. Please review so I know if it's worth carrying the story on or if it's getting boring/rubbish aha. **

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Daryl tries desperately to break down the barricade stopping the group from escaping the control room, all he can hear are shouts, screams from the group aimed at Jenner, begging him to give them a chance to live, to survive. Daryl has his reasons, he still hasn't completely given up hope on finding his brother. He knows every one else has their reasons too, the desperate need to keep going fills everyone's heads as they plead and threaten. Daryl decides to take matters in to his own hands, Jenner may not respond to spoken threats, but Daryl has an axe, and he has never encountered a problem that wielding an axe can't fix. He runs at Jenner, screaming at him, Rick, T-Dog, and Dale manage to stop him, pull him away.

After a speech from Rick and Lori about needing a chance, Jenner finally agrees to open the door. Immediately Daryl grabs Rebecca's elbow and pulls her out of the door, determined to get out of their with her and his life. Reaching the main entrance his lets go of her arm and runs at the glass, axe raised, smashing it in to the glass, trying desperately to break it.

The rest of the group finally catches up, Daryl doesn't care if anyone decided to stay behind. He needs to get out, Rebecca calmly approaches him, pulls his gun out of it's holster and shoots at the glass but it doesn't even scratch it.

"FUCK!" She screams, shoving the gun back in to his hands, rushing at the glass and punching it with all her might causing a horrible crunching from her fist.

She lets out an agonised scream gently cupping her injured hand, tears streaming down her face.

"Daryl, I won't fucking die here." she sobs.

"I have something that might help" Carol says, rummaging through her purse. "Your first morning at camp," she tells Rick. "When I washed your uniform? I found this in your pocket."

She hands Rick a hand grenade, he looks at it nervously. "Everyone, get down!" He shouts.

Daryl grabs Rebecca, pulling her behind a wall and crouching.

The hand grenade goes off, it's so loud Daryl's ears start to ring, he looks to see a window has shattered, freedom.

The whole group sprints out of the building, pushing themselves to get to the vehicles to escape. The walkers are everywhere, attracted by the sound of the hand grenade, they desperately fight their way through them. Daryl opens his truck door and helps Rebecca in before running round to the drivers side. Ready to set off they all see Dale and Andrea emerge from the building, there can only be seconds left. Daryl pushes Rebecca's head down, trying to protect her from the blast before shuffling down himself. He covers her ears just as the building explodes. It seems to last forever, Daryl squeezes his eyes shut feeling Rebecca's tears sliding down his hands.

The sound of the explosion and the building falling down is quickly replaced by the groans of walkers getting closer. Daryl gets back in to his seat quickly, starts his truck and follows after the RV that had set off mere seconds before. Rebecca's body shakes and shuddering sobs rip through her body, her hand seems crooked and swollen.

"I didn't expect you to punch the window like that..." Daryl whispers

"I've done a lot of things to survive Daryl..." Her tone shuts him up immediately.

After a long drive the RV finally pulls over. Rick gets out calling for everyone to join him.

Daryl hops out of his truck, walks straight up to Rick.

"Rebecca's wrist is broken, it's swelling pretty bad."

"I know first aid." Rebecca's voice calls to them, she quickly walks over to them both. "I just can't wrap the bandage myself. I can't set it obviously but it should keep it still and help it heal slightly."

"Right" Rick rubs his head, "Carol, could you help Rebecca wrap her wrist."

"Sure" Carol replies putting an arm around Rebecca and guiding her away.

"We need to decide what we're going to do next." Rick looks around at the group "Any suggestions?"

"We need to make our way to Fort Benning, the army base. It'll be safe there." Shane's states confidently

"We should also get rid of some of the extra vehicles, we don't need this many, it's wasting fuel." Rick and Shane seem to get lost in strategizing so Daryl heads over to Carol and Rebecca, He notices Rebecca blushing as Carol speaks to her. Rebecca shakes her head, she looks sadly in to Carol's eyes then nods slowly. Carol smiles at her.

"You'll be okay." Carol stands to go back to her daughter, Daryl grabs her arm.

"What did you say to her?" Daryl demands

"Just the truth, she's young Daryl, you know that? only 20. And you're the man who saved her life. It doesn't take a genius to figure out where this is going. I just want you both to be careful." Carol pulls her arm out of his grip and continues back to the main group.

"This is going to be a long fuckin' journey." mumbles Daryl as he follows Carol back to the group, leaving Rebecca alone.


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter I decided to try in Rebecca's POV to see how she feels about everything and it's a long one! I hope it worked, don't know if I'll do it again, if there's good feedback I'll try it from hers again in a later chapter. :) Thanks for reading, please review.**

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Rebecca's sat on the bed in the RV, she couldn't have ridden Daryl's motorbike with her injured wrist, not that Daryl seemed like he wanted her there. She couldn't stop replaying their kiss over and over in her head. That shouldn't have happened, she was drunk, not in her right mind. She hissed at the pain in her wrist, it was stupid of her to get so panicked. She lay back, the rumble of the RV made her feel safe.

"You alright there kid?" Shane's deep voice shocked her, she sat up straight, breath quickened.

"God, Shane, you scared me." She groaned

"Aha, Sorry kid." He settled himself down on the bed, which creaked under his weight. "You seem out of it." He put his hand on hers, it didn't feel right. She wanted to rip her hand away, tell him to fuck off, but that would only add to the groups suspicion of her. She was sure they all needed more time, they'd trust her soon.

"Just thinking about what Jenner said." Rebecca forced the words out, carefully trying to keep her voice steady.

"You seem to be getting on with the red neck." he chuckled. His insult to Daryl not lost on her, she had to remind herself to keep a slight smile on her face.

"Yeah, Daryl... He did find me after all." She hoped this conversation wasn't going to go down a strange route.

"That don't mean you owe him anything." His grip tightened on her hand.

"I owe him my life." Her voice trembled slightly.

"I can protect you, y'know." His eyes traced her body, making her shudder with disgust.

"You've got your own problems to deal with, Lori for example." She stared in to Shane's eyes, hoping he'd understand the hidden meaning. She wasn't blind to his thinly veiled attempts at getting Lori's attention.

His gaze hardened "You bitch."

"Hey, no need for that. I won't tell anyone, I won't even mention it again."

"What exactly do you want in return." Shane dropped Rebecca's hand and stood.

"I'll let you know, for now just act like we're on the same side. Like you trust me."

"Done." Shane turned and left, muttering something as he shut the partition separating the bed room from the rest of the RV.

Rebecca lay back down, shaking, Shane was not a guy she wanted to piss off but she didn't want him thinking he could have her in any way.

She closed her eyes, thinking of Daryl's firm grip once more. She was safe here, as long as the others didn't find out what she'd done, who she was before Daryl found her. If she let herself get any closer to Daryl, he would find out. She wouldn't be able to hide it any more, and that terrified her more than any walker could.

* * *

A loud bang shakes Rebecca out of her sleep as the RV comes to a complete stop, she scrambles up looking out of the dirty window to see where they were. Cars surrounded them, they must be on a highway somewhere, she could hear everyone pile out of the RV to see what was going on. She rubbed her eyes, they felt dry and itchy, stretched her legs weakly and forced herself off the bed. She heard a discussion going on outside, walking towards the exit she stepped out, the sun was hot on her face, it had been too hot for too long. Andrea pushed past her to get back in to the RV as everyone else spread out, searching the cars for supplies.

"Daryl." Rebecca called as she pushed past Lori and Carol, ignoring the glare she got from Shane. She reached out and touched his arm before he yanked it away from her. She couldn't help the hurt that ripped through her, instead of getting upset she was mad. Where does he get off treating me like shit? He's the one who kissed me! she thought to herself. "Fine. Be a prick." She snarled at him, stalking past him to check cars by herself further up the road.

After three cars she had found plenty of new clothes for everyone and a few cans of beans. She stuffed it all in a large canvas bag she'd found and started to pull it back when she heard the distinct shuffle that made her blood run cold. She felt a large hand cover her mouth and pull her round, her eyes met Daryl's as he put his finger to his lips. She knew to stay silent, he pushed her down signalling to get under the car. As he turned to leave she grabbed his arm, shaking her head desperately for him to stay with her. Daryl just shook his head pointing somewhere else, it was all Rebecca could do to nod and let him go. shortly after she lost sight of him several pairs of feet shuffled, dragged and limped past the car. Her heart was racing, if one of them tripped they'd see her immediately, and who knows how many of them there are. She wanted more than anything to close her eyes and wait for it to pass but she couldn't, it was too much.

Finally it's been a while since she saw a walker, she figures it must be safe to get out, she pushes the bag out first and tries to drag herself out but her wrist hurts so much. She starts to whimper as she finally manages to get free of the car. Using her good wrist Rebecca pushes her self up, her breathing is laboured as she leans against the car. She sees Daryl stumble towards her, he looks up and catches her gaze. "Rebecca." He walks straight towards her touches her face gently "Are you okay?"

"My wrist, I think it's got worse." She replies, Daryl touches it gently, his acting tender hurts more than his cold attitude toward her earlier.

"Daryl!" We both turn seeing Rick sprinting toward us "Daryl. I need your help. Sophia's gone missing." Rick pants

Daryl immediately goes to follow Rick in to the forest.

* * *

It was growing dark by the time Daryl and Rick returned empty handed. Rebecca glanced at Carol before heading in to the RV, She grabbed a blanket and started to walk back out.

Rebecca started towards Daryl to ask him for news when Shane grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going kid?" Shane snarled quietly, Rebecca glanced at Daryl who was staring at her. He looked confused, which made sense as her and Shane hadn't had much interaction since she joined them.

"Can't stand to sleep in the RV, it's too crowded." She tried to sound confident but Shane scared her, reminded her of her boyfriend, Dave.

"Want me to join you?" His voice was full of unspoken intentions.

"What exactly do you mean?" Rebecca faked innocence.

Daryl put his hand on Shane's wrist.

"You wanna let go Shane?" Daryl growled

"What? She yours now?" Shane didn't let go just turned his attention on Daryl.

"Seems to me like she don't want what your sellin'" Daryl's grip tightened on Shane's wrist

"Please don't do this." Rebecca begged, she didn't want a scene and the two men were on their way to causing a big one.

"You won't be there to protect her all the time red neck, and maybe she don't want protecting in the first place." Shane dropped Rebecca's arm and looked in to her eyes. "Come find me when you want a real man." He stalked off towards the rest of the group.

Daryl turned to Rebecca with a hurt look in his eyes.

"You didn't find her?" Rebecca asked

"Nah, but we will. I didn't know you and Shane were close." He whispered

"We aren't! He just... I don't know, he frightens me." Rebecca was shaking and Daryl wrapped his arms around her. He buries his face in to her hair and takes a deep breath.

"I don't know if I can sleep in that RV tonight." Daryl admits, his voice muffled.

"I'm going to sleep in an empty car a bit of a way down." Rebecca's voice trembles, she wants him to join her, Daryl's not like Shane, he's kind and brave.

"Lead the way." Daryl straightens up and goes to follow Rebecca to the car.

Rebecca can't help but think she's letting herself get carried away with Daryl, if she lets him in he might find out but she can't help but want him to look at her, properly look at her. See the real her and want to stay with her anyway.

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**So, first chapter from Rebecca's POV. I hope it came across okay, I've got the rest of the story planned out already and a sequel already in my head. Tensions between Daryl and Shane will come to a head much later, and maybe some steamy scenes between Rebecca and Daryl? I can't decide on that yet. I've never written smut before but I'd like to have a go. :) Let me know what you think, thank you for the reviews so far. :D first thing this morning I checked if I'd got any and when I saw that I had I got really excited and just had to write the next chapter! Even though it's only half 8 in the morning right now! Anyway, look forward to the next chapter and I look forward to hearing from you guys. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Daryl needed to find that little girl, he knew out of everyone he was the best chance she had but daylight was fading and the church had been a dead end. Rick, Shane and Carl had decided to continue searching but Daryl knew with night on it's way they too would have to give up soon. He wanted to get back to the RV, to see that Rebecca was safe, he had left her alone in the car that morning, knowing she would be annoyed when she woke up to find him gone but he couldn't face talking to her. He didn't have the will power to sort things with her out. Rebecca had decided to stay behind with Dale and T-Dog seeing as she was injured and couldn't defend herself properly. He felt bad for her, she wanted to help look for Sophia like everyone else but she knew she would inconvenience the rest of the group.

A gun shot in the distance made everyone freeze, Lori starts to panic about there only being one, Daryl reminds everyone they need to keep moving. He needs to get them back to the RV. Hearing Carol get upset about Sophia makes him falter, he shakes off the feeling of disappointment at not being able to find her, to help stop Carol's pain, and blurts out "It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna find that little girl; she's gonna be just fine."

They continue their journey back to the RV when a walker wanders out of the dense forest and attacks Andrea. She screams and Daryl hears the gallops of a horse coming closer. A woman on the horse saves Andrea and commands Lori to come with her, the information that Carl's been shot forces her in to action and she climbs on to the horse. The woman shouts out directions to her farm to the group left behind before galloping off.

Daryl shouts "Come on! We've gotta get back to the RV."

* * *

Finally they reach the High way, Daryl can see the RV as Dale climbs down and begins asking questions. Daryl ignores him and walks straight up to Rebecca and T-dog. After everyone agrees to leave a big sign up for Sophia in case she finds her way back and Dale tells him about T-Dog's situation he grabs a bag of pills from a satchel on his motorbike throwing him a bottle of doxycycline for his infection. He quickly begins to rig a sign with the help of Dale and Glenn.

He glances at Rebecca to make sure she's okay, she looks fine, if a little mad. With the sign finally finished they decide to head to the farm in the morning. He approaches Rebecca who's checking on T-Dog.

"How's he?" Daryl asks hoping she'd at least respond.

"He'll be fine, thanks to your brother's bag of drugs." She replies, standing up and brushing herself off with her good hand.

"And... how are you feelin'?" He steps closer to her.

"Daryl, clearly you have some stuff to figure out. I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't know how any kind of relationship can work in this world. It makes people cruel, crazy. I'm not saying that's what you want, I'm not even sure if that's what I want. In fact I know I shouldn't want anything like that with you but since..." She trails off, shakes her head and walks past him. She turns and motions for him to follow her as she heads further away from the rest of the group. When they get out of ear shot she begins again.

"Ever since you... kissed me, I can't... ah fuck... I can't stop thinking about it... about you." She stares at the ground, her words fill him with warmth but another part of him still thinks she can't be trusted.

"Be honest with me, have you been telling me the truth? About your group and what happened." He knew this is the last time he could ask, he'd have to trust her after this. Rebecca nodded, her hair falling over her eyes.

"Always, I swear." She whispered.

He pulled her towards him, keeping eye contact as he stroked her hair, "I believe you." he whispers back before he slowly leans in, his lips brush against hers tenderly. She sighs in to it, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He kisses her harder, hoping he wouldn't have to explain anything, hoping she would understand that he needed this. Needed her.

She pulled away with her big smile even brighter than he'd ever seen it before, it confused him, the voice warning him grew louder but he pushed it away. He'd promised to trust her, he couldn't pull away again. She took his hand and pulled him towards the car they'd slept in the night before. She leant against it, looking up at him, biting her lip. He couldn't stop himself, a growl escaped his mouth as he pushed himself against her once more. Kissing her felt amazing, like nothing he'd ever felt, he couldn't tell if that was because he knew he could die tomorrow, in fact it was likely, or if it was just because it was her but he didn't care.

Her body was warm under his touch, his fingers found the hem of her t shirt and ran his fingers along the skin underneath, he felt her shudder under his touch.

Daryl pulled away slightly, "We can't do this out here."

"That's why I brought us to the car" she whispered as she grabbed his shirt trying to pull him back to her.

"That's not what I mean" he chuckled

"I know, it's dangerous and whatever" She groaned leaning back against the car.

"We're going to a farm soon, supposed to be safe. Maybe we can set up a camp there, tents." He kept his volume to a whisper

"I don't have a tent." Rebecca stretched up to kiss his jaw.

"Then you'll have to share mine." He grinned

"I'd like that... a lot."


	8. Chapter 8

Carol's constant crying is grating on Daryl, it's an incessant reminder that he hadn't found Sophia and it was gnawing at him. His eyes shifted to Rebecca who was sat opposite Andrea helping her practice putting Daryl's gun back together. He couldn't help appreciating the way the moonlight filtered through the RV window making Rebecca rub her eyes. Her wrist was still causing her pain, he knew no one else noticed but he did. It wouldn't be healing properly, if at all.

A sudden sob interrupted his thoughts and dragged his attention back to Carol and the missing Sophia. He stood up, stretching his aching limbs, sleeping in the RV had been his idea, after sleeping in the car had been too uncomfortable and being alone with Rebecca would have led to something he couldn't deal with now. Rebecca's eyes caught his, questioning him.

"I'm gonna find that lil girl" he grumbled, reaching for his gun from Andrea and quickly putting it together.

Andrea stood quickly "I'll come too, I want to do something useful." Daryl nodded in response.

Starting for the door Rebecca stood in front of him. "It's the middle of he night, if you're going I want to come to." She stated, confidently.

"Nope, no deal, you're still hurt." Daryl answered, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, Daryl, I can't sit around doing nothing, I want to help." She was trembling, her voice shaking but she stood her ground.

"No, I won't let you." Daryl tried to push past her but her hand on his chest stopped him.

"You won't let me?" She forced out "You won't let me!"

"Rebecca, Daryl just doesn't want you to get hurt." Andrea placed her hand on Rebecca's shoulder only to have it shrugged off.

Rebecca glared at them both. "I don't care what you want, I am not some invalid that needs taking care of." She turned and stomped out of the RV muttering to herself. Daryl rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

"She's right you know? Daryl, she just wants to feel included." Andrea turned to follow Rebecca.

"Are you my fuckin' mom?" Daryl growled. He turned to Carol and knelt in front of her "We're gonna find your girl"

Carol nodded and smiled weakly "Be careful."

* * *

As they search the dark forest Daryl can't help but glance at Rebecca, she's mad at him, obviously. Her shoulders are tense and she refuses to look directly at him. He just wanted to keep her safe, is that so bad? He doesn't understand how she can't see that. Daryl forces himself to concentrate on Sophia instead of worrying about Rebecca and their little fall out.

"What do you think of her chances?" Andrea asked

"I'm gonna find her." Daryl answered without hesitation.

"How can you be sure? She's just a little girl, how could she survive alone out here?"

"I did just fine and I was a lot younger than her."

A rustle in the leaves made Daryl whip round, carefully he crept through the trees, avoiding roots, before coming to a clearing.

"Oh my god" Andrea gagged at the sight of a walker hanging from a tree, his feet and calves had been chewed at and stripped down to the bone. It even made Daryl's stomach turn but he had to hide it, force away the fear.

"Dumb-ass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head." Daryl scoffs.

"Please kill it" Andrea begged, doubled over trying not to throw up.

"I ain't about to waste an arrow on him." Daryl looked around wondering where Rebecca had got to, slightly glad she hadn't had to see this.

"Please, it's not fair to leave him like this." She pleaded

"Fine, but I get to ask you a question."

Andrea nodded "Please hurry."

Daryl quickly shot the walker, with his cross-bow, in the head and turned to face her.

"Do you want to live?" Daryl questioned

"I don't know if I has to live, want to live, or if it's just habit." Andrea admitted straightening up and looking around. "Where's Rebecca?"

"I dunno, she can't have gotten far." He heard a muffled shout followed by a scuffle near by. "Rebecca." he whispered and hurried towards the noise.

He burst through the bushes in time to see a walker drop to the ground to join two others at Rebecca's feet. She was panting and wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Daryl strode over to her and grabbed her face turning it towards him, he checked her over for any injuries or bites but she seemed unharmed and a little proud of herself.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!" Daryl growled at her, letting go of her face causing her smile to fall in to a frown.

"I was proving you wrong. I managed to look after myself even if I am just a girl." she growled back

"God damnit Rebecca. It's not about you being a girl, it's about being injured and how much I fuckin' care about you." Daryl threw his hands in the air and turned away from her "You've been fuckin' selfish today coming out here to prove somethin'"

"But Daryl I..." She started before Daryl cut her off mid sentence

"But nothin', let's just get back to the RV." He started walking back past Andrea who quickly followed him.

"Daryl" Rebecca called rushing to catch up with him and pulling on his arm "I'm sorry, I just thought..."

"No, you didn't think, that's the problem." Daryl pulled her towards him and wrapped him arm around her shoulders and continued walking back to the RV.

Rebecca lent her head on his chest awkwardly as they stumbled back.

"I'm really sorry. I promise I won't do anything to put us in danger again." She whispered, Daryl squeezed her shoulder gently.

"I didn't want you to get hurt again."

* * *

They finally reached the RV, exhausted and dirty, Carol ran to them, hope in her eyes, which was quickly replaced with sorrow as Daryl shook his head. She dragged herself back in to the RV, her cries silent making Daryl feel worse. He glanced down at Rebecca who was holding on to him tightly, she looked up at him and smiled.

"You'll find her." was all she said as she let go of him and followed Carol in to the RV, and that was all he needed to keep going, she believed in him and he was going to prove her right even if it killed him.

* * *

**So I'm trying to upload new chapters pretty often because I want to get it all finished for you guys so I can get started on the sequel I've got planned out in my head. I hope you've enjoyed the chapters so far and I'll be uploading at least one more chapter this weekend but probably a few more as I can't help myself. I love writing. :D**


	9. Chapter 9

Daryl's sleep was plagued with nightmares, someone holding him back as Sophia screamed for help far away, he tried to get away from the force keeping him in place. Sophia morphed in to Rebecca who was screaming even louder, begging him to save her but he couldn't. She was being dragged away, Daryl couldn't help her, suddenly it went silent and Rebecca whispered "This is your fault."

Daryl woke to Rebecca gently shaking his shoulder, lent over him, he was covered in sweat and panting as he stared wildly at her.

"It's okay, it was just a dream." Rebecca smiled as Daryl reached up to touch her face, to remind himself she was real, she was here and she was safe. She closed her eyes and lent in to his hand briefly before he pulled away pushing himself up.

"We're about ready to set off to the farm" Dale called as he climbed in to the RV

Daryl settled himself in the passenger chair at the front as Dale sat behind the wheel.

"You not going to sit with Rebecca?" Dale asked

Daryl glared at him then turned his attention to cleaning his cross-bow, hopefully they'd be arriving soon and he could get back to finding Sophia.

* * *

The RV pulls up to the farm and rumbles to a stop, Daryl kicks open the door and walks over to Rick.

"How's Carl doin'?" He asked taking in Ricks pale complexion

"He'll be okay, thanks to Hershel." Rick answers, smiling at Daryl.

Rebecca calls "Where should we set up the tents for everyone?"

"Underneath that tree." Rick shouts back, pointing at a large tree by the perimeter of the farm.

Rebecca nods and shuts the door on the RV again before it starts up and drives to the area Rick pointed out.

"Any news about Sophia?" Rick turns to Daryl

Daryl can only shake his head in response, staring at the floor before heading off to follow the RV to help set up.

* * *

Rebecca had been in the RV for at least 20 minutes, by Daryl count, alone and it was annoying him. He walked over to the door to see if she was okay, he knocked quickly waiting for her answer. Instead he heard a crash and a small cry. He yanked the door open and threw himself inside. He found Rebecca on the ground holding her wrist, only in her cut off jeans and a bra.

"What happened?" He asked making sure to look any where but her chest.

"I wanted to get changed but my shirt got stuck over my head." Rebecca blushed

Daryl left the RV, grabbed his duffel bag and ran back inside. He rummaged around in his bag before pulling out an old plaid shirt of his that had the sleeve cut off. He unbuttoned it and held it out for her. She turned and gently eased her arms in to it before turning back to him, staring at her feet and trying to do up the buttons.

"Let me get that" Daryl whispered as he reached out to her shirt and buttoned it up slowly for her.

"Thank you Daryl." Rebecca said, she looked in to his eyes.

"Don't mention it." Daryl lent in and kissed her on the forehead

"How is it when I'm with you I forget all the shit that's going on everywhere else." Rebecca breathed, eyes closed

"Must be my charm and fantastic wit." He replied making her giggle.

A cough coming from the door way made him jump.

"Maggie's got a map, should help us co-ordinate a proper search for Sophia." Rick announced, nodding towards Daryl before turning to leave.

Daryl squeezed Rebecca's uninjured hand and lead her to the group surrounding the map.

"So we'll search in these co-ordinates today" Rick said as Rebecca and Daryl got close to the map, pointing at an outlined square.

"I don't think so" Hershel said "You've got a hurt ankle and need to rest up before you injure yourself further" He said to Shane "And you gave a lot of blood yesterday, you need rest." He said to Rick.

"Fine, we'll start the search again tomorrow then." Rick sighed

"I can go by myself" Daryl declared

"What? No!" Rebecca squeezed his hand in hers as he turned to look at her "Please." She begged

"I have to look for her." He stared in to her eyes, trying to convey everything he felt without having to use words.

Rebecca squinted as she stared back at him, searching his eyes for answers, she sighed and shook her head. "Okay, just come back safe... okay?"

"I promise." Daryl smiled.

"This is all very touching an' all but there's a little girl out there waitin' for you to find her." Shane growled

"I better go back to setting up the tents and stuff." Rebecca said, shuffling away she turned and started her walk back to camp, Shane turned to follow her but Daryl grabbed his arm.

"Get the fuck off me." Shane warned his eyes seemed different, aggressive.

"Stay away from her." Daryl snarled before dropping his arm. Watching Shane limp in the same direction Rebecca had just gone in made him want to stay behind, keep an eye on things but he knew he had to keep looking for Sophia, he'd find her if he just kept looking.

* * *

**Another chapter done! I knew I'd end up writing more this weekend but I didn't know it would be this early! Hope you enjoyed it, let me know :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Last night I had a dream I was on The Walking Dead, at some point I told Carol I loved Daryl because his arms were so big they had their own personalities and if he ever wore sleeves I would kill myself and if she was serious about him I'd fight her for his arms.**

* * *

Daryl had been gone for a long time, Rebecca was trying her best to keep herself busy so she wouldn't think the worst. She had been to see Hershel about her wrist and he had bandaged it tightly to help it heal but that was the most he could do, without being able to see the fracture. It felt more secure and the swelling had gone down significantly, there weren't many jobs she could do with only one good hand so she was sat with Carl.

"Is Daryl your boyfriend?" Carl asked, his eyes were full of innocence and curiosity.

"Um, I don't really know." Rebecca replied,

"You kiss him though, so he must be." Carl nodded to himself seemingly satisfied with his own conclusion.

"Daryl ain't her boyfriend." Shane interrupted making Rebecca jump and twist around to see him limping towards them.

"Carl, you should go find your mom." Rebecca suggested smiling kindly at Carl who nodded and stood up to walk away. After Carl was far enough away to not hear their conversation she turned to Shane.

"What do you want Shane?" She hissed as he settled himself down a little too close to her.

"Just wanted to check up on you, with your prince charmin' being off in the wilderness." He whispered, tucking a strand of Rebecca's hair behind her ear.

"I'm fine, I don't need you checking up on me." She shuffled out of his reach and stared at the ground.

"Daryl's a lucky man." Shane sighed "Havin' two women sniffin' around him."

"What do you mean?" Rebecca choked out, she knew she was doing exactly what Shane wanted by asking but it hit a nerve.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed the way Carol looks at him?" He laughed

"Carol's missing her daughter, Daryl's the only one doing anything about that, of course she'd rely on him." Rebecca's voice was shaking, she wanted to run away.

"Yeah, alright. Daryl's a real good guy." Shane carried on chuckling, shaking his head. "Hey, there he is." Shane pointed to Daryl who was walking towards the RV carrying a flower in a beer bottle. "Doesn't look like he's looking for you." He whispered in to Rebecca's ear causing her to shudder.

"You're a real ass, you know that?" Rebecca growled

"Don't act like you want me to stop." He reached to touch her arm.

Rebecca grabbed his hand with her uninjured one. "You touch me once more I will break your arm." She snarled.

Shane's eyes widened in shock before he broke in to laughter. "I like a girl with a bit of fire."

Rebecca stood up and marched away from him, hating the way he managed to wind her up so easily. He'd got in to her head, she saw Daryl exit the RV and felt relief flood through her. Smiling she started towards him but stopped immediately as Carol reached toward Daryl and pulled him in for a hug.

"Shit" Rebecca muttered to herself, tears threatening to spill she turned and hurried back to the farm-house, hoping there would be something for her to do there, to keep her mind off the images of Daryl and Carol together.

* * *

Rebecca had avoided Daryl all evening, rushing to help any one else and join any conversation she could to make sure she wasn't alone long enough for Daryl to corner her. She felt guilty, he looked confused and hurt, she knew he hadn't found Sophia again and it was getting to him but she couldn't promise she wouldn't accuse him of being with Carol. It was immature and childish of her but Shane had wormed his way in to her head, spreading poisonous thoughts.

"Want some company sweetheart?" Shane's voice was smug and self-assured.

"What could you possibly have to say to me Shane?" Rebecca was tired and didn't have time to argue with him.

"Wondering if you want some stress relief." his grin was full of thinly veiled intentions.

"How is it that you can't grasp the fact that I don't want to be with you."

"Oh right, because of Daryl? You think that red neck is gonna keep you safe, that he's gonna want a relationship with you? He don't know how to handle a woman like you." He stroked her arm "Daryl doesn't have to know anything."

A dirty hand landed on Shane's

"What is it that I don't have to know." Daryl snapped

"Daryl..." Rebecca breathed

"Ah, guess you found out, me and Rebecca are kind of together." Shane shrugged

Rebecca's eyes darted between the two men.

Before Rebecca could say anything Daryl's fist crashed in to Shane's jaw making him stumble back, clutching his face.

Daryl turned to face Rebecca "You okay?" he asked

Rebecca could only nod, Daryl turned and walked towards the group of tents not stopping to see if Rebecca was following or not.

* * *

Rebecca slowly walked closer to the tent Daryl and her were ment to be sharing, she was scared, not of Daryl of course, but he might be mad at her and she would hate that.

"You gonna come in or you gonna sleep out there?" Daryl called from inside the tent making Rebecca jump. She crawled in to the tent to find it really was small inside, barely enough room for both of them.

"I'm sorry." Rebecca whispered

"What for?" Daryl shrugged, rubbing his knuckles

"I should have been more direct with Shane?"

"Shane doesn't understand how to give up." Daryl groaned as he lent back.

"Daryl, I..." Rebecca reached out to him before deciding against it and pulling back, only to have Daryl hold her hand encouraging her to lie down next to him.

"I don't like the way he talks to you." Daryl whispered in to her hair as he pulled her as close to him as he could, her face buried deep in to his chest. "He needs to back off."

Rebecca closed her eyes as she listened to his steady heart beat.

"He needs to realise you're my girl." He murmured

Rebecca's eyes shot open and she tensed in his arms.

"I am?" her voice broke slightly as she tried to control her breathing, panic coursed through her body. Was it okay for her to get this close? Daryl's arms felt perfect wrapped around her forcing her to forget how scared she was in that moment. "I am."

"Did I scare you?" Daryl's voice rumbled

"No. You could never scare me." Rebecca smiled "You're the only thing in this world that doesn't scare me."


	11. Chapter 11

Daryl woke up with Rebecca, still locked in his arms, firmly holding on to his shirt. She looked so peaceful, he stroked her hair, part of him didn't want to leave the tent.

"I can't blame Shane for wanting to be close to you." He muttered

"I can" Rebecca murmured

Daryl flinched, not realising she had heard him

"I just meant that..."

"I know what you meant." She replied, shuffling closer to him.

She was warm, reassuring, and it filled his head with inappropriate thoughts.

"You need to be careful around him." Daryl groaned, trying to keep control of the situation.

"Don't mention him here, this is a safe place, it's just us here and I'd like to keep it that way." She whispered, kissing his chest through his shirt.

He grinned, kissing her on the top of her head.

"I'm going to look for Sophia again today."

"I know, you are working so hard for that little girl." Rebecca's hands were unbuttoning his shirt slowly, stroking his chest accidentally causing his breath to falter.

"It's really hard for Carol." He replied closing his eyes.

Rebecca's hands froze, making Daryl look down at her shaking shoulders.

"Did I say something wrong?" he muttered, worry filling his eyes.

"It's not important. It's just Shane said..." She groaned

"What did Shane say?" Daryl enclosed her hands in his, trying to not get angry at the idea of Shane upsetting her.

"He implied that you and Carol" She whimpered

"I'm gonna stop you right there, I worry about Carol, she's lost her daughter and her husband. I probably won't ever find my brother again, I've come to terms with that, but there's a chance I can still find Sophia. I'm gonna keep doing that not only for her but... for me." Daryl had never been good with talking about his feelings but he was gonna try his best for Rebecca. She'd been honest with him, supported him throughout his search for Sophia, she deserved his trust.

"I'm sorry for worrying, I just hate the idea of being without you." She whispered.

Daryl gently tugged at her chin to force her to meet his gaze.

"I'm not going anywhere." He said,

Rebecca nodded, smiling sweetly, before stretching up and kissing his jaw.

"Why do you like kissing me there?"

"I like your stubble, kissing you there feels scratchy and I couldn't make that up. It reminds me that this is really happening." She answered.

Daryl's heart leapt in his chest, his vision blurred and he crushed her lips against his. He could feel her writhing next to him, her hands pulling at his mostly unbuttoned shirt. He didn't think any one had wanted him as badly as she seemed to and he needed her.

It wasn't just frustration, or lust, it was need. He had to have her, if today turned out to be the last day of his life he needed to show her how much she meant to him.

* * *

Daryl had decided to take one of the horses on his search for Sophia that day, figuring he could cover more ground and see better. Before he left he needed to make sure Shane understood their little interaction from the night before.

"Shane." he called, making Shane flinch which made Daryl feel a little pride.

"What do you want red neck?" Shane snarled

"Just wanted to come to some sort of agreement." Daryl looked around, he knew if Rebecca saw them chatting she would come over and make things worse. Daryl couldn't keep calm if she were too close.

"Listen, I don't give a shit about you or your little bitch." Shane growled

"You ain't our leader Shane, you're loosing it and it shows. Stay away from Rebecca, if I see you near her again fillin' her head with shit, I will kill you." Daryl glared at him before walking past him to get to the stables. "Oh" Daryl stopped walking and turned back to face him. "and if you call her a bitch ever again, I'll break your fuckin' jaw."

* * *

Bloody and bruised, with an arrow sticking out of his waist, Daryl woke up at the bottom of a steep hill in a shallow body of water. His head was fuzzy and throbbing.

"You're wasting your time lookin' for that little girl brother."

Daryl rolled over slightly to see Merle looming over him.

"That Rebecca ain't all she's cracked up to be." Merle smirked

"Fuck off" Daryl groaned as he tried to sit up, he knew Merle wasn't really there.

"You know she's hiding something right? She just got close to you because she knew you'd be the easiest to trick." Merle was laughing now, cruel like usual.

"I said fuck off!" Daryl shouted

"You just need someone to want you right? And she does that for you, tell me, how does she feel underneath you? Did she look up at you with those big beautiful eyes and beg for it?"

"Shut the fuck up." Daryl whispered

"You always were easy to trick, so desperate for someone to love you you'd fall for anyone's lies. Especially with those beautiful long legs to wrap around you."

Daryl cried out "You're not here! LEAVE ME ALONE!"


	12. Chapter 12

Andrea was looking through the binoculars.

"I bet I can nail him from here." She announced looking excited

Rebecca rolled her eyes, Andrea had tried to prove herself to everyone here and it was grating on her.

"You best let us handle this." Shouted Shane

"No! Hershel wants to deal with the walkers on his land his own way." Rick argued

Shane shook his head as he, T-Dog and Glenn grab some weapons and run towards the woods. Rick groaned and followed after taking out his gun.

Andrea aimed the rifle at the walker in the distance.

"Andrea no!" Dale begged "Let them deal with it."

"Back off." She ordered.

Rebecca stood up, shielding her eyes from the sun, trying to get a good look at the walker that was approaching.

A sharp crack sounded as Andrea took her shot, hitting it and causing it to drop. She lowered the gun looking really pleased with herself as Rebecca squinted in the light.

Rick screamed in horror making Rebecca's stomach drop, she glanced up at Andrea who's face had grown pale due to shock.

Realising the only reason Rick would react like that would mean Andrea had shot a person.

"Daryl" Rebecca whispered. "DARYL!" she screamed, taking off at a sprint towards the group of men carrying the limp Daryl between them.

"No... no no no no!" She cried as she got close enough "Daryl... no..."

"It only grazed him, he'll recover." Shane reassured her, trying to squeeze her shoulder.

"Get the fuck off me!" She screamed pushing Shane away from her and trying to get closer to Daryl.

She followed close behind them as they hurried back to the farm-house screaming for Hershel's help.

The houses door flew open as Hershel emerged from inside, he strode over to the group.

"Take him upstairs to the bed room, I'll get the supplies." He ordered

Rebecca was sobbing uncontrollably as Daryl was carried inside.

"You can't come in, you're hysterical, you'll only get in the way." Hershel stated as he stopped Rebecca from passing him.

"No! I have to be with him! Please" she cried, Shane wrapped his arms around her, forcing her to stay close, she struggled wildly against his grip.

"Shhh." Shane whispered, trying to comfort her, calm her down. Her cries grew quieter as she hiccupped broken sentences and pleas for Daryl's safety.

"I'm so sorry." Andrea whispered.

Rebecca froze, Shane's grip had loosened on her as she had calmed down.

"You stupid, fucking bitch." Rebecca roared as she launched herself at Andrea.

Andrea screamed as she tried to defend herself, Shane managed to regain his hold on Rebecca as she lashed out, kicking at Andrea.

"You always think you know best! What the FUCK is wrong with you?! If Daryl had died I... nothing would stop me from ripping your idiotic throat out." She growled

Andrea's eyes widened in horror at Rebecca's outburst, shrinking in on herself.

"I'm sorry." she said, turning to walk away from her.

"You better hope he's okay." Rebecca called after her

"You need to calm down" Shane shouted

"Let go of me, please" Rebecca sagged in Shane's arms "Just let go."

* * *

**Just a short one this time, I wanted to focus on this one little bit for this chapter. Back to Daryl's POV next time, look forward to it :) **


	13. Chapter 13

Daryl was frustrated, he'd been forced to stay in bed the entire day, his stitches were itchy and people had come in and out to check on him constantly. Yet the one person he'd wanted to see hadn't shown her face. He'd thought Rebecca would be the first person he'd see after he'd woken up in the bed yet it had been Rick looming over him ready to ask him too many questions that Daryl didn't have an answer to.

He was mad, the hallucination of Merle had been very convincing in turning him against this group of people, reminding him he didn't belong with them, he was just some red neck. The longer it took Rebecca to get here the more he was convinced she didn't really care about him and it hurt more than the arrow through his waist had. There was a gentle knock at the door that made Daryl flinched, his stomach flipped with hope that it would be Rebecca on the other side of that door. He forced himself to shuffle up the bed to a sitting position and grunted a quick come in as he smoothed down his hair over his bandage.

Carol's face appeared from behind the door with a small smile, crushing Daryl's hopes and he slouched back against the head-board of the bed. Carol placed a plate of food on the bedside table and perched on the edge of the bed.

"I want to thank you for everything you've done looking for Sophia." She whispered, leaning in and kissing him on his bandaged head.

"Watch out for my stitches" he huffed as he slid back down and rolled away from her to stare at the window.

"You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did for her in his whole life," She replied

Daryl shrugged "Wasn't nothin' Rick or Shane wouldn't have done."

"I know" She smiled "You're every bit as good as them."

Daryl blushed, he wasn't used to praise, not this much, it bothered him a lot. Made him want to run away and never look back. A small cough coming from the door way made him freeze.

"Ah, Rebecca." Carol said as she rose from the bed. "You here to look after our wounded soldier?" Her footsteps grew quiet as she left the room and Daryl felt a different weight caused the bed to dip very slightly and Daryl's whole body felt tense as the figure behind him lead down behind him and wrapped her arm around him waist, carefully avoiding his injuries.

"Thank god you're okay." Rebecca murmured in to his back, her voice filled his body with relief as he relaxed in to her embrace.

"God don't have nothin' to do with it." her muttered

"Hmm... well I'm just glad you're still here." She sighed as she nuzzled in to his broad back.

Daryl shifted and tried to roll over without letting her move too far away from him.

She stared up at him, her pupils huge in the dim evening light, smiling sadly.

"What's wrong?" He whispered

"I've been worried all day." her voice was croaky and hoarse

"Why didn't you come by earlier then?" The break in his voice gave away that it really did bother him.

"Hershel banned me from the house." She mumbled

"What?" He chuckled

"Apparently I was causing a scene... Andrea looked terrified."

"Are you serious?" It all fit in to place now, the reason she hadn't come to visit all day, why everyone had avoided his questions about her.

He kissed the top of her head gently before smiling to himself. Merle had been wrong, she did care about him, she wouldn't have reacted so strongly to him being hurt if she didn't.

"I love you." he whispered.

Rebecca tensed in his arms, immediately putting him on edge, he hadn't planned on saying that, not yet, but the idea that he could have died today without her knowing how important she'd become to him in the short time they'd known each other filled him with dread.

She started to move away, biting her lip as she stared at his chest.

"Don't do this." He begged "Don't push away."

She glanced up at him, eyes full of tears.

"I'm not gonna take it back. I meant it." He was trying desperately to keep his voice even, his grip on her waist tightened.

"You don't." she croaked

"I do." He growled back.

She whimpered quietly before looking up at him.

"I'm not allowed to stay here tonight, Hershel only let me come in for a visit, not a sleep over."

"Okay..." he mumbled

She moved to the edge of the bed and sat up as Daryl watched her silently. She stood and walked towards the door.

Pausing before she left she whispered "I love you too." and hurried out of the room immediately.

Daryl's heart skipped a beat, she definitely had said it right? He couldn't quite believe it himself. It felt like he could go out right now in to the forest and find Sophia without fear. Tonight would be the last night he would be made to stay in the bed room.


	14. Chapter 14

**A new chapter for you guys, I hope you enjoy it. I hope all of you are ready for an emotional rollercoaster after the fluffy last chapter. aha.**

* * *

Rebecca saw the small walker emerge from the barn and felt bile rush up her throat, she doubled over and wretched several times as everyone grew silent and stared in horror at Sophia limping towards them. Carol's screams were the only thing Rebecca could hear as her vision went blurry and she willed herself to not pass out. She glanced at Daryl who was cradling Carol in his arms as she wailed. Everyone was just staring, waiting for someone else to step forward and do what needed to be done. Shane had grown pale and his gun wavered, all the bravado from earlier gone in the face of the little girl.

Rebecca knew Daryl would be heartbroken to know the girl he'd almost died trying to find had been in the barn this whole time. Rick marched past everyone, straight towards Sophia, she snarled and grunted at him, reaching out to grab at him. Rick aimed his gun and shot her in the head, the sound ripped through Rebecca making her knees buckle and she fell to the ground. Carol's cries were making Rebecca feel sick, the grief was overwhelming. To see one of their own group like that, a child no less, was too much. Rebecca stood shakily and stumbled away, stopping to lean on a tree, she was sweating. Her breathing was short, shallow, it was too hard to force the air in to her aching lungs. She wanted to rewind to last night, to hear Daryl sweetly tell her he loved her again, unburdened by the knowledge they all now shared.

She could hear a lot of shouting coming from the direction of the barn but she couldn't find the strength to care. She curled up in the shade of the tree, hugging her knees, the shouts were just noise that she couldn't decipher. She thought she would never fear anything as much as she feared her earlier group but that all changed the second she realized it was Sophia coming out of that barn, she immediately felt terror for the situation the world was now in.

"Rebecca" Daryl mumbled

Rebecca's eyes shot open and it was evening, she looked up to see Daryl crouched next to her looking out towards the trees.

"You've been asleep, didn't want to wake you until we held the funeral."

Rebecca groaned as she forced herself to sit up, her joints ached and her throat burned.

"Are you okay?" He whispered, glancing at her.

"No. You?" Rebecca croaked

"No." Daryl huffed, leaning back against the trunk.

Rebecca leant her head on his shoulder.

"How's Carol doing?" She asked, knowing the answer already but needing to be sure.

"She won't come to the funeral." He answered, resting his head on hers.

"I can understand that, must be horrible for her."

"She has to go to the funeral." Daryl muttered

"It's her choice." Rebecca said

Daryl shifted away from her, disappointment etched on his face.

"That's her daughter." He stared at Rebecca, before standing up and striding off leaving Rebecca by the tree confused and alone.

* * *

"What's going on?" Rebecca called, approaching Rick, Glenn and Daryl who were huddled together.

"Me and Glenn are going to look for Hershel." Rick stated

"Hershel's missing? I want to come too." Rebecca said, avoiding Daryl's harsh glare.

"I don't know if that's for the best." Glenn responded

"Hell no. You ain't goin'" Daryl growled

"Excuse me? Since when did you tell me what to do!"

"Since I decided I ain't loosin' anyone else!" Daryl roared, stunning Rebecca in to silence.

Daryl rubbed the back of his neck before stepping closer to Rebecca and resting his hands on her shoulders.

"I can't lose you, please." He begged

"Daryl, I need to do my part, and it'll be with Rick and Glenn, I'll be safe, there is no way I won't come back." Rebecca reasoned.

Daryl rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"I'll bring her back Daryl." Rick said, full of confidence, he patted Daryl on the back. "Rebecca, meet us at the car in 20 minutes."

Rick and Glenn both walked away, leaving Rebecca and Daryl alone.

"You tried your best." Rebecca whispered, Daryl wound his arms around her and buried his face in her long hair. "You never gave up, you're a brave man Daryl Dixon."

Daryl's shoulders barely shook as he held her tight, she hugged him back knowing he wouldn't want anyone else seeing him like this and feeling proud to be the one he relies on.

"I wish I could tell you how much I need you." Daryl whispered.

"You should wait until I get back, okay?" She smiled at him as he looked her in the eyes.

He kissed her gently.

"I will, you better come back."

"I promise I will. Everything's going to be fine." Rebecca said, hoping her voice convinced him she believed it.


	15. Chapter 15

Rebecca was nervous, being away from the relative safety of the group without Daryl was intimidating. She hadn't had much interaction with Glenn but she knew he was good at getting in and out of places without detection and Rick had been a cop or something so he had authority and knew how to shoot. If it couldn't be Daryl she was glad it was these two. They pulled up round the back of a bar Hershel would be inside and got out of the car.

It was so quiet as they pushed open the heavy door and entered the bar, seeing Hershel sat with his back to them on a bar stool, he'd lost so much. Rebecca walked over and sat next to him.

"What're you drinking?" She asked him

"Whiskey." He offered her a glass which she took off him and poured herself a drink, she took a sip and recoiled, it burned her throat and made her eyes water.

"That is disgusting." she spat, pulling a face at the drink.

"Don't drink it then." Hershel smiled faintly

Rebecca drank the rest quickly shutting her eyes and throwing it back. She slammed the glass on the table and shuddered.

"Disgusting." she whispered.

"Hershel, Beth needs you." Rick said, walking towards him.

"I robbed my daughters of a proper grieving process by giving them false hope, I allowed myself to believe it too." Hershel's voice was so sad, defeated.

"People are counting on us to be strong!" Rick argued

The doors to the bar flew open revealing two men in the doorway.

Rebecca froze, her blood ran cold as she turned to face away from them, hoping they wouldn't see her.

"Holy shit Dave, it's Rebecca!" The fat one hollered

Rick whirled to face her, confused and panicked.

She turned on her bar stool, shooting a defiant glare at the two men.

"Dave, Tony. What are you doing here?" She asked, refusing to look at the people she'd arrived with.

"Just looking for supplies darlin', since you left we've had to find other ways of feeding our group." Dave chuckled, walking towards her.

"That's for the best." She muttered

"You haven't changed sweetheart." he reached out towards her and took a strand of her hair in between his fingers, "Still so pretty."

"Get off me." She hissed

He turned towards Rick and pointed at him "She fuckin' you now?"

Rebecca was horrified, she blushed furiously and stomped to stand in between Dave and Rick.

"Go away Dave. You can't frighten me anymore." her voice trembled, giving away her bluff and making Dave chuckle.

"What's you're name?" He asked, still pointing at Rick.

"Doesn't matter." Rick hissed

"Well 'Doesn't matter' I bet you're not using our Rebecca here to her best potential. She was our supplies gatherer, isn't she cute? She would find other groups and trick them in to trusting them before leading us to them to take their stuff, using force when necessary. Disappeared a while back for some reason." Dave explained

"I didn't disappear! You tried to have me killed you bastard!" Rebecca cried "You told me to go on a supply run with Sam and after we'd got far enough away from camp Sam attacked me! I had to kill him Dave. I killed him, if I hadn't he would have killed me."

"You act so innocent, you're a fuckin' whore" Dave spat

"No, you aren't allowed to talk to her like that." Rick said

"Which guy was your target Rebecca? The little Asian one? or another back at your camp." Dave laughed

"What?" Rick stared at Rebecca

"I... I-I didn't! That wasn't... I didn't target any one, Daryl and I-"

"Daryl? That your new sweetheart's name? How long did it take you to trick him in to loving you?" Dave laughed "That was her favourite tactic."

"Rick, please... I didn't know they were using violence, I had my family to think of. I refused to do it after I found out... what they were doing to them... god... I swear I didn't know." She begged him to believe her.

"So, where are you guys stayin'?" He asked, slinging his arm around Rebecca's shoulders

"That doesn't concern you." Rick spat out

"Hey, we can all be friends" Dave chuckled walking towards the door

"No way." Rick growled

"We can't stay out there," Dave hissed. "What do you suggest we do?"

"I dunno...I hear Nebraska's nice," Rick smirked.

Before Rick even finishes his sentence Dave reaches for his gun and shoots blindly, a blinding pain runs up Rebecca's leg as she's hit by Dave's shot. Rick shoots him in the head before Dave can shoot again.

"Fuck" yelled Tony about to fire his own gun, Rick swiveled and shot Tony twice in the stomach before walking to his fallen body and shooting him in the head.

"Shit." groaned Rebecca, sat on the floor and holding her leg, blood oozed between her fingers.

Hershel knelt beside her, putting pressure on her wound.

"You lied to us!" Shouted Rick, aiming his gun at Rebecca

"Please Rick. I didn't mean to" Rebecca pleaded

"You told us he was DEAD! That your whole group was dead!" He yelled

"I was scared! I thought you wouldn't let me stay if you knew the truth." Fat tears rolled down her face as she sobbed

"Does Daryl know?"

"No! God, no he doesn't. Please... please don't tell him. I can't... lose him." She choked.

"We can't trust you... we don't even know who the fuck you are! We should leave you behind."

"No! Please! I wouldn't survive! Please, those guys wouldn't have come here alone, there will be more and they'll kill me!" She reached for his arm but he yanked it away.

"Get her in the car." Rick order Hershel and Glenn.

* * *

Rebecca could hear Randall in the trunk sobbing over his injured leg. She was sat beside Hershel in the back of the car.

They pulled up at the farm house and Rick got out of the car, walked around the back and yanked her door open. She could see Daryl running towards them from the barn as Rick pulled her out of the car and let her drop to the floor. She hit the ground with a thud and shrieked in pain. Rick was pacing back and forth next to her as the whole group gathered around them. Daryl pushed his way to the front and knelt down beside her.

"You got shot!" He gently moved her hand to see her wound

"Oh God, Daryl..." she sobbed as he wrapped his arms underneath her, preparing to lift her up and carry her back to the house.

"STOP!" Yelled Rick, "Put her down."

"What're you talking about Rick?" Daryl asked, frowning

"She lied to you man, to all of us!" Rick said, leaning towards Daryl.

"Fuck off man" Daryl laughed, looking around at the rest of the group, his face fell as he realised Rick was being completely serious.

"Daryl... I didn't mean to lie... I'm sorry!" Rebecca pleaded

"You lied... to me, about everything? You said you..." His voice dropped to a whisper as he put her down on the ground again "You said you loved me... was that a lie too?"

"No! Daryl! I never lied about my feelings for you." She reached out to him, begging him.

"You were going to lead your group to us and take our supplies and do God knows what else." Rick accused

The group around them exchanged nervous glances and murmurs.

"I wasn't, I swear! I had already left them when Daryl found me." She turned back to Rick

"LIAR!" Rick screamed, "Take her to the barn with the kid" he ordered pointing at Randall in the trunk.

Shane walked over and grabbed her up off the ground and marched towards the barn.

Rebecca glanced back at Daryl who was staring at Rick as he whispered information to him. Daryl kept shaking his head, he gripped Rick's shirt. It broke Rebecca's heart, she knew he wouldn't trust her again. Daryl was out of her reach now, she would never get him back.


	16. Chapter 16

Shane dropped Rebecca on the cold ground and she hit the ground with a loud thud, she groaned in pain as she clutched her injured leg. Randall was dragged in by Rick who threw him against the wall and began tying him to a post.

"Please Rick, don't do this" Rebecca begged trying to shuffle towards him.

"Shut the fuck up!" ordered Shane, kicking her in the stomach. Rebecca cried as she folded in on herself.

"Shane!" Rick yelled, pulling him away from the whimpering Rebecca "She's hurt enough already."

Rick approached Rebecca slowly.

"I'm going to tie you up." He muttered

Rebecca merely nodded as she crawled towards the nearest post. She leant against it and sighed sadly. As Rick walked behind and started to tie her wrists together she hissed in pain.

"Be careful, my wrist still isn't right." She whispered

Rick grunted in response.

"We'll bring you some food later." He said as he finished tying her wrists together behind the post.

"Tell Daryl I'm sorry, please? I wasn't lying about how I feel." she pleaded

Rick rose to a stand and brushed off his pants.

"I can't force him to forgive you, and I won't blame him if he doesn't." Rick remarked before leaving her alone with Randall and Shane.

Shane crouched in front of her with a smug smirk.

"So, sweetheart, want me to make you more comfortable?" He snickered cruelly.

Rebecca spat in his face, refusing to answer him properly.

Shane wiped his face, his expression contorted in pure rage.

"You fucking bitch." He growled, punching her hard in the face. He grabbed the front of her shirt and yanked her up, her lip was busted and her eyes were streaming. He raised his fist once more before he was tackled away from her.

"I said I'd break your jaw if you called her that again, or did you forget?" Daryl roared punching Shane in the face. He kept punching him over and over until Shane's face was bloody and Rebecca's screams for him to stop faltered.

"I should kill you." Daryl whispered to Shane

He let him go and stood up, walking towards Rebecca. Shane crawled out of the barn slowly, panting as he went.

"Did it mean nothin'?" Daryl refused to look her in the eye while he spoke

"It meant everything... you are not some idiot I had to trick, you're the man I love." She spoke with conviction, knowing this would be her last chance to convince him.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. From the beginning I had a bad feeling about you but then you worked your way in to my head and I'm the fuckin' moron who believed you."

"You don't understand, you didn't know them! They were ruthless, they made me go out by myself to find supplies. That involved finding another group and letting my group know where they were to steal their stuff. I never lead them to groups with children and I had NO idea what they were doing to get the supplies. If I'd have known I never would have helped." Rebecca explained as best she could, but her lip hurt so much along with her ribs, wrist and leg.

"What did they do to you? To make you leave..." Daryl finally looked in to her eyes, which gave her hope.

"I walked in on a group of them, torturing this poor girl. I'd met her once before, she was a school teacher before all this. She was gagged and they were... God, it was horrible. I couldn't believe it, I went straight to Dave, to tell him what his so called friends were doing. He just said that I wouldn't understand." Rebecca coughed and winced from the pain in her ribs. "He laughed at me when I said we should leave, I still hoped he had some part of himself left, the good guy I knew. But he didn't, he was just as cruel as the rest of them."

Daryl's fists were clenched, his breathing slow and deep.

"I decided I wanted to leave, before they did anything to me or anyone else in the group. I gathered a few of them and told them about what had happened and my plan for escaping. I guess one of them let slip because a man called Sam grabbed me in the middle of the night." She shifted, trying to get more comfortable but the rope was rubbing her wrists raw. "We walked for hours, before he tried to kill me. I managed to get away and hid up a tree. He was stood below me and I knew I had to kill him so I dropped on him. I managed to kill him, purely thanks to surprising him. I made my way back to camp but they'd already moved on. After wandering through the woods for a while you found me." Her eyes filled with tears "That's when my new life began."

Daryl stared at the ground.

"You're lying." He muttered

"Daryl! I'm not I swear I..."

"Shut up!" He shouted, standing up and pacing back and forth. "I won't fall for your crap again."

Rebecca knew it was lost, he wouldn't trust her again. She'd seen this day coming but she'd ignored it, allowing herself to love him. She should have known her secret would come out but she'd convinced herself Daryl would forgive her. He'd said he loved her, that had to count for something.

"Okay! Fine!" she yelled, tears falling down her cheeks "I made mistakes, I believed I was helping the people I cared about by getting supplies and yeah it was a shitty thing to do to other people but I didn't know them! I knew the children in my group who would've starved to death! and as soon as I found out what they were doing I decided to leave! What more was I supposed to do! I didn't tell you guys because I knew you would judge me. You're all hypocrites. You gonna kill me? Is that how this is going to end?"

Daryl shrugged, staring at the entrance to the barn.

"Maybe." He whispered before marching out of the barn, leaving Rebecca with Randall.

"That could have gone better." Randall mentioned

"Shut the fuck up." Rebecca hissed.

* * *

**Oooh. So it's getting close to the end, I hope you've enjoyed this exposition rich chapter, full of back story and a lot of talking for someone who has a busted lip. Aha. But I knew I had to get this out, for Daryl to hear her story and have him make up his own mind. Please review and let me know how you think it's going. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

When Rebecca woke up she ached all over. The wrist around her uninjured wrist was cut open from being rubbed by the rough rope all night.

"You've been having nightmares." Randall called over from his post "You kept me awake all night shouting for Daryl, so annoying. Give up on him, he obviously hates you know."

"I shouldn't have to put up with your whiny voice first thing in the morning." She groaned

"I'm gonna let that go, considering your boyfriend hates you now, that's pretty rough."

Rebecca glared at Randall and was about to respond when the barn door was pushed open letting the bright morning light stream in. Rebecca squinted trying to work out the silhouette making their way towards her.

"Daryl." Rebecca breathed, pleased to see him.

He crouched in front of her with a plate of food.

"Breakfast" he grunted

Rebecca looked at the plate and shrugged.

"My hands are tied together."

Daryl huffed and scooped up some beans with a fork and held it to her mouth.

"Open up." he said

Rebecca opened her mouth and he put the fork in her mouth, Rebecca pulled her mouth away and swallowed the beans really fast.

"Hot!" she huffed, shaking her head.

Daryl scooped up some more beans and blew on them, holding them up to her mouth he whispered "You have to eat."

Rebecca nodded and ate all the beans off her plate, Daryl smiled sweetly at her for a second before his expression slid in to a frown.

"It doesn't have to be this way Daryl, you just need to trust me." She hoped staring in to his eyes would help him forgive her but he refused to meet her gaze.

He stood with the plate and turned to leave.

"Hey! Where's my breakfast?" Randall yelled.

"Fuck off." Daryl growled before yanking the door closed behind him.

* * *

Rebecca had spent the day watching Randall get beaten up.

Rick and Shane came in the barn and dragged him away without saying anything to her and after a few hours brought him back in looking significantly worn out. After Rick and Shane left again Rebecca's curiosity won.

"Where'd they take you?" She enquired

"Some school, was gonna leave me but changed their mind when I mentioned Maggie." he chuckled

"Did you hear them say what they were gonna do with me?" Rebecca was beginning to give up, Daryl barely spoke to her but he was the only one who brought her food, he looked so sad, so disappointed.

"Nah, seems like they don't care enough to discuss it." He shrugged

"God damn it Randall, you're such a dick." Rebecca spat

"Yeah, and you're a real sweetheart." Randall laughed, rolling his eyes.

The door to the barn creaked open and Daryl strode in holding a plate of food.

"Dinner already? Wow, time flies when you're having fun." Rebecca hissed causing Daryl to falter.

He crouched down in front of her and scooped up the rice with a fork holding it to her face again.

"I'm not hungry." she sighed

Daryl shook his head, dropping the fork back on to the plate and throwing them both across the barn. It hit the far wall and smashed, throwing rice all over the ground.

"Fuck, Rebecca! I'm trying my best." Daryl yelled throwing his arms in the air

"Trying your best? to what? Keep me alive until you lot decide to kill me?" She screamed

"Trying my best to forgive you! To trust you again! It's too hard, I don't know what to believe."

"Believe me!" She shouted, straining against the rope.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." he shook his head, he walked behind her post and crouched down fiddling with the rope digging in to her wrists. "Looks sore."

"It's very painful." she whispered

Daryl quickly stood and walked out of the barn without saying another word. Rebecca shifted and felt the ropes were looser than before, if she kept at it she might be able to get free. Could Daryl have done this on purpose? He's not the kind of person to do it by accident. She glanced at Randall who was just staring at the roof. It would be a while before it got dark enough for her to escape which gave her plenty of time to work her way out of the restraints. This was her chance.

* * *

Randall was snoring, loudly, and his head was lolling forward. Rebecca had managed to finally loosen the ropes enough to carefully slip her hands through and be free. She carefully stood up and began to creep out of the barn. She kept low to not draw any attention to herself, the farm was quiet as she slipped in-between the small gap of the barn door.

It was really quiet on the farm, the only figure she could see was someone stood on top of the RV on lookout. She crept round the side of the barn and very slowly made her way towards the surrounding forest.

When she was finally in the relative safety of the tree line she paused to turn back. Knowing this would be the last time she'd see Daryl, she'd never be able to come back after escaping. They'd never trust her, but she couldn't fully trust they wouldn't decide their only choice was to kill her. For the hundredth time since going to find Hershel she'd wished she could go back to before they'd found Sophia. Daryl had saved her life, given her a new one and accepted her in to his own.

She truly loved him, and now she could never be near him again.


	18. Chapter 18

**We're getting close to the end now, I'm pretty excited to see how you feel about how I write it. :) **

* * *

"I've missed you Daryl" Rebecca whispered close to his ear

He smiled gently as she ran her hand up and down his chest,

"I didn't go anywhere." He murmured

The sun was streaming in to the giant bed room, their bright, white sheets tangled up around them. He rolled on his side to see her properly but she was crying.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He asked

She tilted her head in confusion then she glanced out of the window.

"I wish you didn't have to go." She sighed

Daryl sat up and stared at her, "Where am I going?"

"Daryl, she's gone!" Rebecca yelled

"What are you talking about?" He asked, shaking his head

"Daryl, you need to wake up!"

Daryl's eyes flew open and he stared at the top of his tent, Carol was stood at the entrance shouting at him.

"Daryl! Hurry!" she shouted running out of his eye sight.

Daryl crawled out of tent and saw Rick and Shane marching towards him from the barn, Rick looked furious.

"Rebecca's gone." He growled

"What? How?" He croaked, rubbing his eyes.

"Look for yourself red neck." Shane sneered, shoving past him.

Daryl set off towards the barn, he began sprinting knowing what he'd find. He'd known what he was doing when he loosened her restraints. He'd known she'd escape, wanted her to, but deep down he'd wished she hadn't needed to.

He ran in to the barn and saw the ropes torn up on the ground.

"We have to find her." He heard Rick say from behind him.

"Why, she's gone, she won't come back." He huffed

"She could lead her group to us." Rick reasoned

"She won't." Daryl replied, certain that he was right, she wouldn't go back to that piece of shit group and she'd never come back here either. It was over.

"Daryl, just find her. We need to make sure she ain't goin' in that direction." Rick sighed, placing his hand on Daryl shoulder.

"Get the fuck off me." Daryl snarled, shoving Rick away.

He strode past Rick to go get his crossbow, he would go out, but he wouldn't find her. He didn't want to.

* * *

Daryl had found her tracks really fast, she wasn't being careful enough. Maybe she was doing it on purpose, asking him to find her. He followed them for a while, hoping he was wrong, that these tracks were from something else but knowing he was right.

"Shit." he groaned, he'd been walking for a few hours now. Rick had insisted on coming with him but Daryl had managed to convince him he'd be fine alone. He didn't want Rick finding out he'd essentially let her go.

The tracks ended at the base of a tree, he almost laughed to himself knowing where she'd be hiding. He looked straight up and saw her there, perched in the branches of the tree smiling slightly at him.

"Fancy seeing you here." She called

"You have a habit of gettin' stuck in trees." He chuckled

"I'm not stuck, just waiting." she said, her expression grew serious as she began climbing down the tree.

She landed gracefully next to him and brushed her pants off before looking up in to his eyes. He reached towards her and plucked a leaf out of her hair, she leant in to his chest as he let the leaf float down to the ground.

"What took you so long?" She mumbled

"I didn't want to find you, you just made it so easy."

She pulled back, her eyes confused and pained.

"This isn't our great escape?" She asked

Daryl could only shake his head sadly. Her face crumpled up as she tried to force the tears back. She stepped away from him, shaking her head.

"You're lying." she whispered, refusing to look at him.

"I'm sorry."

"You're lying!" she shouted pushing at his chest "You wouldn't just leave me alone."

"I have to."

"Please don't do this. We can be together." she begged

"I'm sorry, I just can't leave and after everythin' that's happened I can't just be with you." He explained, his heart broke at the sight of her pain, the tears she was trying desperately to hold back spilled down her cheeks.

"You're picking them over me." She stated

"That ain't how it is." Daryl argued

"That's exactly how it is, you let me escape, knowing I wouldn't be able to come back. Yet you won't be coming with me? You're abandoning me!" She cried

"I have to go back. I'll tell them I couldn't find your tracks, you'll be okay." Daryl's voice broke as he tried to convince himself more than her.

"You're a coward Daryl Dixon! If any one has been tricked it was me! I thought you loved me."

"Don't fuckin' dare say I tricked you." He snarled, "I took you back to my group without question, I was always honest with you, I let you in! Do you know how many people are close to me? I wouldn't eve show Merle that side of me and he's blood! So don't you dare say I tricked you. When I said I love you, I meant it!"

"Please Daryl, let's just go, you and me." She whispered, reaching out to his hand.

He moved his hand out of the way, picked up his crossbow and turned away from her.

"I'm sorry." he murmured, he started to walk back towards the farm.

"Me too." she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

It took all his strength to not run back to her, to take her hand and just run off in to the sunset together. But that wasn't him, that wasn't his life. He never got the happy ending and he wasn't fool enough to believe this was gonna be it.


	19. Chapter 19

**A month later.**

Rebecca stared at herself in the cracked mirror, her skin was tinged grey, her dark blue eyes sunken in, long red hair matted so much she couldn't run her hand through it any more.

"You're loosing it Rebecca." She muttered to her reflection, pulling at her taut skin. "You're slacking with the beauty regimen. What would your mother say?" She laughed to herself, shaking her head. "You've been alone too long."

She walked over to the window and pulled the curtain back, squinting in to the bright morning sun she noticed a skinny, grey dog led by the street light.

"Still here huh? Are you trying to be my friend? Or are you just waiting for me to die." She questioned.

Letting the curtain fall back in to place, she walked over to her mattress and landed heavily on to it. She grabbed her combat boots and pulled them on to her feet, lacing them up she tied them as tight as possible. She tugged her hair up in to a pony tail roughly. Glancing at the crumpled, ripped shirt by her pillow.

"Today's the day I leave you behind." She whispered as she stroked the collar tenderly.

She grabbed her rucksack and stood, slinging it over her shoulder she grabbed a pack of jerky and left the room letting the door slam behind her. She was half way down the stairs before she paused.

"Pathetic." She muttered before running back to the room and grabbing the shirt and shoving it in her bag.

* * *

Rebecca eyed the dog warily, it seemed just as nervous of her, she crouched and threw a piece of jerky towards the dog, it gobbled in up immediately.

"Good boy." She whispered soothingly

The dog's tail wagged slowly as it approached her, interested in the jerky She held her hand on, palm up for the dog, he sniffed it cautiously before leaning his head in to her hand. She stroked him gently, feeding him more jerky.

"You're such a good boy, let's see if you have a name." She looked at his collar and found a tag.

"Dixon." She chuckled "Isn't that just too cruel."

The dog barked and jumped about happily.

"Well Dixon" Rebecca sighed as she stood up "Let's go."

Rebecca started to walk down the street with Dixon following close behind. She never stayed in one place too long, moving on after a day or two of being any where. She'd tried so many times to leave the damn shirt behind but something kept stopping her, probably the same thing that was slowly leading her back to the farm. She knew she shouldn't go back there, they'd not be happy to see her, but a part of her really just wanted to see how he was doing. If he was okay without her.

"How long have you been alone?" She asked, looking at Dixon, "I bet it's been a while right? Me too. Well, I think maybe a month?"

Dixon tilted his head, ears perked up, Rebecca chuckled at him.

"Cute" Rebecca sighed "You remind me of a guy I knew... I really want to see him. I did something stupid, I wasn't honest with him and it caught up with me. He found out about it and couldn't forgive me."

Dixon barked

"Ha, sorry, I guess it's a boring story." Rebecca shook her head.

She knew she had to go see him, even from a distance, just so she could confirm he was still alive.

* * *

Rebecca finally begun to figure out where she was going, she could see a clearing in the dense forest and her stomach did flips in anticipation of seeing Daryl again. Her pace quickened, Dixon close behind, she crouched at the tree line pulling her bag off her back and rummaging around before pulling out her binoculars.

She glanced up at the farm while untangling the string on the binoculars and noticed the barn wasn't there anymore.

"Have I got the wrong place?" She mumbled bringing the binoculars to her eyes and seeing in the place of the barn was lots of charred wood and bodies.

Rebecca immediately felt sick, she stood keeping on staring through the binoculars, desperately searching for someone alive.

"Oh god." she whispered seeing the RV dirtied with blood.

She threw her bag back over her shoulder and started cautiously walking towards the farm house, clearly a herd had passed through here but it had been long enough since then that the walkers had moved on.

All her excitement from before dissipated, she wouldn't be seeing Daryl today, she wouldn't see him ever again. There was no way of knowing if he was alive. She jogged up to the door of the farm house and shoved it open. The floor boards creaked as she made her way through the house, pulling open cupboards she realised they must have left in a hurry not taking any of their supplies with them. She ran up the stairs after feeding Dixon a bunch of jerky and beans. She slipped in to the bed room Daryl had stayed in when he was injured.

"I should have known." she muttered

She sat on the bed and noticed something on the night stand, she reached over and picked up a knife that had been left behind. She inspected the handle and noticed someone had carved D.D. in to the handle.

"Daryl..."

she ran her fingers over the etched letters before grasping the handle tightly and walking to the bath room. She pulled her hair out of the bobble and began using the knife to cut her hair off. After a while her hair was jaw length, jagged and rough, but Rebecca smiled at her reflection. She found a hair brush and yanked it through her matted hair, yelping in pain every time she reached a large knot.

"Much better."

She hung the knife off her belt and stripped down to her underwear, she pulled Daryl's shirt out of her bag and put it on before climbing in to the big bed. Dixon jumped up on to the bed and curled up next to her. She stroked his fur and let herself cry. Night time was the hardest for Rebecca, she couldn't distract herself with surviving all day, all she had to do was lie there and sleep. But she never did just sleep, she replayed the last time she saw Daryl over and over, each time feeling the horrible sting of abandonment as he walked away. She'd suffer through over thinking the whole thing before dropping off in to a fitful sleep.

* * *

"If I don't find somewhere to stay soon, I'm going to die." She whispered to Dixon who was trotting beside her.

She'd wandered in to a field, merely avoiding the walkers, she'd rather not have to fight. Rebecca was too weak to fight anything off, she'd be over powered immediately.

"I need somewhere permanent, that has food."

She felt dizzy and sick.

"I need to sit down." she muttered holding her head.

Her vision blurred and the world spun around her.

"I'm sorry Dixon, I don't think I'm going to get through this."

She led down and Dixon led down next to her whining.

Rebecca's eyes slid closed as she rested her hand on Dixon's head.

"I'm really glad you found me boy, I wouldn't have wanted to die alone."

Dixon's head shot up, letting Rebecca's hand fall off it, he started barking at something, standing over Rebecca defensively.

"Hey now" a male voice said getting closer "I'm not hear to hurt your friend, I want to help."

Dixon sniffed the man's outstretched palm before allowing him close to Rebecca. The man lifted her up in to his arms and started walking back to a large truck with Dixon following closely.

Rebecca managed to open her eyes to see the man's dark brown hair and kind face.

"Who are you?" She breathed

"I come from a town, where you would be safe. The people there call me the Governor." he explained

Rebecca smiled, as she let her eyes slide close once more.

"You're saving my life." she whispered before passing out.

The man gently led her in the back of the truck and held the door open to let Dixon jump in next to her.

He climbed in the front next to the driver and said "Let's go back to Woodbury."

* * *

**So, this is the end. I hope you like how it turned out, please let me know by reviewing. :) I will be starting a sequel, probably tomorrow and I hope you all want to read that one too. :) I've really enjoyed writing this story so I hope you enjoyed reading it all the way through. :)**


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